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Mickey Mouse
Michael Theodore Mortimer Mouse (simply known as Mickey Mouse) is the main protagonist of the Mickey Mouse franchise. Fancifully estimated as standing 2 ft. 3 in. (69 cm) and weighing 23 pounds (10 kg), Mickey rapidly rose to the pinnacle of American culture, being more widely recognized overseas than any other American icon but the U.S. flag. For over 80 years, he has signified The Walt Disney Company, animation, goodwill, fun, laughter and most of all Walt Disney himself. It was said by Lillian Disney, his wife, that over the years, Mickey and Walt grew together and were mirrors of each others personality. They both started off mischievous and cheeky, but as they grew older preferred to step out of the spotlight and observe others work their magic. President Jimmy Carter once said; "Mickey Mouse is the symbol of goodwill, surpassing all languages and cultures. When one sees Mickey Mouse, they see happiness". Mickey also shares the same birthday with Minnie Mouse, his girlfriend. Mickey's three-circle silhouette serves as the logo for most of Disney's subsidiaries, save for the ones that don't carry the 'Disney' or 'Walt Disney' label. Andy Warhol's portrait The Art of Mickey Mouse ''used Warhol's famous pop art techniques on the classic mouse. Mickey is often cited as the world's most beloved cartoon character. Most would not consider Mickey a cartoon icon to be a hero but he has played a major role as a hero in the ''Kingdom Hearts video game series. He is seen as a hero in the Disney Theme Park nighttime show Fantasmic!. In the show, he takes on many of Disney's most infamous villains with a few fellow good guys helping him. Background Mickey comes from a stable, nuclear family. According to the Italian story Once Upon a Time... In America, Mickey's father has a wealthy background, which he built with the help of his future wife (and Mickey's mother). By his parents, Mickey has an older sister named Felicity Fieldmouse. He once stated that he has no brothers.18 By Felicity, Mickey has twin nephews named Morty and Ferdie Fieldmouse, whom he occasionally watches over. According to Symphony Hour, "Mickey and the Culture Clash" and "The Fancy Gentleman", Mickey's full name is Michel Mouse. Mickey is normally depicted as living a modest life with his pet dog, Pluto. He has a longtime girlfriend named Minnie Mouse, whom he spends most of his free time with. According to Walt Disney, Mickey and Minnie are married in private life and are merely depicted as dating onscreen.19 Mickey's occupational status is dependent on the story, but he is usually portrayed as a jack-of-all-trades, working as anything from a steamboat deckhand to a sorcerer's apprentice. The most recurring employer of Mickey's is the Ajax Corporation, where he has worked alongside his best friends, Donald Duck and Goofy. Ajax consists of a variety of odd jobs (ghost exterminators, car washers, roller coaster painters, etc.) and most of Mickey's assignments end up in failure due to his and his team's incompetence. In comic stories, Mickey has frequently been portrayed as a detective working closely with his friend Horace Horsecollar and the Chief of Police, Chief O'Hara. Though not for pay, Mickey has been a regular contributor to his local orphanage—which houses hundreds of nameless mice children—for many years. With help from Minnie, Donald and other friends, Mickey has organized numerous benefits for the orphans such as picnic outings and theatre shows. In some cartoons, he and Pluto have even welcomed the orphans into their home. In some continuities such as that of Darkwing Duck, A Goofy Movie, and numerous meta Disney productions like House of Mouse, Mickey is portrayed as an A-list celebrity made famous by his theatrical cartoon shorts, which are said to be based on real events in his life. Personality Mickey's most widely known traits are his wholesomeness and charisma. In contrast to this, Mickey is also rather mischievous; a scrappy, free-spirited rebel with a head full of curiosity, optimism and slight arrogance, Mickey has a habit of finding himself in a wide array of self-inflicted trouble—sometimes comical, sometimes highly consequential. Nevertheless, he is also quick-thinking and crafty and is thus able to save himself from the varying danger, ending out on top in the end. Because of his small size and limited resources, Mickey often relies on his wit to overcome adversity. His craftiness is also put into good use when looking for ways to make life easier for himself, even if he knowingly has to break a few rules in the process, being somewhat of a schemer in this sense. While his success elevates his ego and drives him to act selfishly at times, Mickey is a devoted friend and cares deeply for his loved ones. This is most prominently displayed in his relationship with his longtime girlfriend, Minnie Mouse. The two are shown to be deeply in love with each other, and as such, Mickey has repeatedly gone to great lengths to both ensure Minnie's happiness, and to impress her (sometimes out of insecurity of losing her, as seen in "Mickey Tries to Cook"). In turn, Minnie is an avid supporter of Mickey and openly returns his sentiments. Though his habit of forgetting special occasions and other important matters annoy her, Minnie simultaneously serves as Mickey's better half, bringing out the best of him, even after his own flaws create significant mayhem. Mickey is also a reliable leader and is well-respected amongst his peers because of this. When put in charge of a production, for example (such as a stage show or the House of Mouse nightclub theater) he tends to be rather professional and composed, even when hecklers and other inconveniences get in the way. Another great example of Mickey's reliability can be seen in various cartoons in which Mickey stars alongside his best friends, the ill-tempered Donald Duck and exceptionally clumsy Goofy. Mickey is able to handle issues fairly better than both Donald and Goofy, as his temper and clumsiness are not as distracting for himself as they are for his two comrades. Though whimsical and childlike in his own right, Mickey's maturity shines its brightest when paired with Donald and Goofy showing that, for all his foibles, he can act as a level-headed "voice of reason" when the situation calls for it. Mickey's selflessness is also highlighted when paired with the two. For example, as seen numerous times with Goofy, Mickey tends to act as a passive friend, as he cares a great deal for Goofy's happiness, and therefore puts up with a fair amount of nonsense for the latter's sake. At times, Mickey can be too caring towards others, which can drive him to disregard his own needs, though he has his limits. Empathetic to a fault, Mickey will gladly come to someone's aid if they appear to be in need, though he sometimes allows his sympathetic heart to blind his better judgment. In Epic Mickey, Mickey sacrificed his only chance of escaping the Wasteland to save Oswald and Gus, both of whom he had just met. This — among other feats — proved to Oswald that Mickey's nobility was genuine, and in turn, motivated him to work alongside the mouse as an ally. While Mickey's temper is not out of his control, he can be rather explosive after being pushed to a certain limit. When faced with his two most frequent adversaries, Pete and Mortimer Mouse for example, Mickey tends to act irritable and churlish. He is also somewhat relentless when it comes to getting back at them for their harassment. In some cases, instead of outright giving his enemies satisfaction by losing his temper, Mickey would resort to sly pranks and trickery to best his foes—this being a way to one-up them, while also getting in a few laughs at the same time. Because of his laid-back nature, however, Mickey is usually remorseful after letting his anger get the best of him, and does all that he can to remedy affected feelings, if any. Mickey evidently struggles with insecurity to some extent. In "Goofy for a Day", he panicked at the prospect of losing his hosting job at the House of Mouse, believing "show business" is the only profession he's actually good at. His popularity seems to act as a double-edged sword. While he typically enjoys the attention, Mickey also feels a sense of pressure from the public to always be at his very best. This is most notably seen when Mickey is tasked with hosting live entertainment in front of a large audience. In during which, he becomes short-fused, anxious, and intolerant towards any delays or disturbances. In spite of being an anthropomorphic mouse, Mickey has the tendencies to act with his animal nature, including the fact that, being a mouse, he loves cheese. In the television series House of Mouse, Mickey, being a mouse, is made fun of when he is shown to exercise on a hamster wheel and drink from a rodent drinking bottle (like the ones found in a hamster cage). These particular facts seem to only exist in the House of Mouse and haven't been shown again, proving to have been used for brief gags only. Film appearances Fantasia Mickey's most famous role (alongside Steamboat Willie) is in the 1940 film Fantasia. In the film, Mickey appears in a segment called "The Sorcerer's Apprentice". After the segment, he and Leopold Stokowski share a live-action/animated handshake, congratulating each other. In this role, Mickey is the apprentice of a powerful sorcerer known as Yen Sid. Whilst the sorcerer spends his time conjuring spells and working with his abilities, Mickey merely works more as a servant, carrying buckets up a massive staircase to a well full of water. One night, however, after Yen Sid retires to slumber, Mickey sneaks on the sorcerer's hat, which appears to be the main source of his magic. Having enough of the physical labor, Mickey brings a broomstick to life with his new found magic and orders it to carry on his duties. It's a success, and the little mouse soon falls asleep, dreaming he is the world's greatest sorcerer. At first, he does not realize the broom continues to bring water to the well. So much, that the tower becomes flooded. Mickey tries to stop the broom, but it's no use, and the mouse is forced to kill it by cutting it to pieces with an ax. After the deed is done, Mickey begins to rest again, but the tiny pieces of sliced wood magically become hundreds of living brooms, and the army continues on with the duty of filling the overflown well with water, soon flooding the entire tower until Yen Sid arrives and puts an end to the chaos. After all seems well, Mickey silently apologizes and is ordered to return to his duties as punishment. Fun and Fancy Free Mickey, Donald, and Goofy live in a once peaceful village called Happy Valley, that became a wasteland after the beautiful singing Golden Harp was kidnapped by a mysterious giant. The friends nearly die of starvation, but Mickey went off to sell their prized cow for food. Instead of a meal, Mickey bought three magic beans from a peddler, which Donald in a fit of anger threw out of the house. The beans then grew into a beanstalk that led to the castle of Willie the Giant who is the kidnapper of the Harp. The three battle the giant to save the harp and restore the peace in their village. They rushed down the beanstalk with the harp, chopped it down once on the ground, and escaped safely. Mickey, Donald, and Goofy became heroes and peace is restored. Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas In this film, Mickey is lacking in money, preventing him from easily purchasing a chain for Minnie's watch as a Christmas gift. To gain money faster, he and Pluto work extra hard at their job at "Crazy Pete's Tree Lot". However, after ruining Pete's scheme to sell an overpriced tree to a struggling family, Mickey's tip money is stolen by Pete, and the mouse is fired. With no money, Mickey and Pluto think of a way to make more money, whilst Mickey plays his beloved harmonica. The beauty of Mickey's harmonica playing catches the attention of the Chief of Police who is having a toy drive. However, the band for the drive was unable to perform at the time. The Chief asks Mickey to play at the drive, but Mickey tries to explain that he has no time. Upon seeing the sad face of a child who donates a toy, Mickey decides to play. Even after his stellar performance, Mickey still has no way to get Minnie her gift. Before Mickey departs, the Chief congratulates Mickey on his performance and tells him that he and his harmonica are something special. This gives Mickey the idea to trade in his harmonica for Minnie's chain. The store owner doesn't accept the offer, however, until he hears Mickey's harmonica playing. Feeling sympathy for the mouse, the store owner goes through with the trade. At Minnie's, the couple exchanges the gifts and it turns out that Minnie traded her watch for a case for Mickey's harmonica. The couple then realizes that each other are all the gifts they'll ever need. In the finale, Mickey and Minnie join the other characters for Christmas carols. Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers When Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and Pluto were children, they were street urchins who were attacked by the nefarious Beagle Boys. Suddenly, three heroic musketeers came to the rescue. One musketeer even gave Mickey his hat as a gift. From that day on, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy dreamed of becoming musketeers, but even as they became adults, they were still just as far from their dream as ever. Now, they serve as janitors for real musketeers, but still keep the dream alive by daydreaming of how great the musketeer life would be. However, Captain Pete constantly bashes the trio by telling them they'll never be musketeers because Mickey is too small, Donald is a coward, and Goofy's too dumb. Unbeknownst to the trio, Pete is actually plotting to kidnap Princess Minnie Mouse, and take over France as king. To do so, he hires the Beagle Boys to kidnap the princess, but they fail. Out of fear, Minnie demands musketeer bodyguards and Pete hires Mickey, Donald, and Goofy, believing they'll do a terrible job. On their first day, the trio rescues Minnie and her lady-in-waiting Daisy, from the Beagle Boys in yet another kidnap attempt. After the rescue, Mickey and Minnie fall in love. Meanwhile, Pete plots to get rid of the trio after he realizes they're more trouble than usual. Goofy is lured away from Minnie's castle by Pete's lieutenant Clarabelle and Donald is kidnapped by the Beagles but he is able to escape. When he does, he heads back to the palace to warn Mickey. Mickey attempts to have Donald help him take down Pete, but the duck is too afraid. Donald quits and leaves France, while Pete kidnaps Mickey. He takes Mickey to Mount St. Michael. There, he is imprisoned in a chamber that will flood with high tide, drowning Mickey. Fortunately, Goofy is freed by the reformed Clarabelle, and Donald decides to rejoin the force. Donald, Goofy, and Pluto head off to rescue Mickey, which they do just in time. Mickey and the gang head to the opera theater where Pete has already managed to take control. A battle follows and Pete is defeated. Mickey and Minnie then proclaim their love, and the trio is dubbed royal musketeers. Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas In the sequel to Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas, Mickey is first seen attending Minnie and Daisy's ice skating tournament with Donald. Later on, Mickey is planning a big Christmas party for everyone to enjoy. Although Minnie would rather have him do something simple, Mickey goes ahead and decorates excessively with three animatronic Santa Claus figures, a moving train set around the Christmas tree, and much more. While on the phone with Minnie, Pluto accidentally ruins the decorations, especially knocking down the Christmas tree. With all the decorations destroyed, Mickey has no choice but to go out and get new decorations. Before he leaves, he grounds Pluto and sends him to his dog house. After Mickey departs, Pluto runs away and finds himself at the North Pole, where he's adopted by Santa's reindeer. Meanwhile, Mickey has returned to redecorate the house. Unlike the previous decorations, these are simpler. After the finishing touches were complete, Mickey went to the dog house to apologize to Pluto for his anger, wanting Pluto to place the star on the tree. Instead of Pluto, Mickey finds his discarded collar, and spots paw prints on the snow, heavily indicating that Pluto has run away. In a panic, Mickey calls Minnie for help and heads out to find his pal. He spends the entire day hanging up posters around the city. During the night, Mickey visits Santa Claus, who is having a meet-and-greet session, and tells him that all he wants for Christmas is Pluto back. But this is no ordinary department store Santa, this is the real deal. Mickey returns home, with all hope lost. Suddenly, Pluto pops up on the roof of the house and rushes down to Mickey's arms. Just as the two begin to reunite, a snow plow truck that nearly ran into Mickey earlier rushes into the front yard of Mickey's house. The driver turns out to be Goofy, accompanied by Max, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Scrooge McDuck, Huey, Dewey, and Louie. Minnie explains that Scrooge purchased a snow plow company to help find Pluto. Overjoyed with his friends being there, Mickey invites them in, and they all sing Christmas carols to celebrate. Other films Mickey would make a cameo in the film alongside other cartoon characters in Who Framed Roger Rabbit. He makes a notable appearance skydiving with Bugs Bunny and later at the end leading the other toons into the human world to Roger Rabbit. In Oliver & Company, Fagin was shown to have a Mickey Mouse watch. In The Little Mermaid, Mickey made a cameo with his friends, Donald and Goofy at the beginning of the film, in the crowd of merpeople who were waiting for the concert of Ariel and her sisters. They can be briefly spotted before King Triton illuminates the coral chandelier. Mickey made three cameo appearances in A Goofy Movie, first seen in the audience of students at Max's high school's assembly, then hitchhiking with Donald Duck during the song "On the Open Road", and finally as a member of the crowd at the Powerline concert. A Mickey Mouse phone was also seen in Max's bedroom. Mickey is also mentioned during the climatic events of An Extremely Goofy Movie. In Toy Story, a Mickey Mouse wall clock can be seen in Andy's bedroom. Steamboat Willie's Mickey makes a cameo appearance as a transformation of Genie's in Aladdin and the King of Thieves. In Fantasia 2000, Mickey starred in the same short, as well as a brief live-action/animation scene with James Levine to introduce Donald and Daisy's segment, Pomp and Circumstance. Television shows Walt Disney anthology series Mickey was regularly featured in the series, portrayed as a good friend and partner of the show's host, Walt Disney himself, as well as an acclaimed actor for the company. Mickey was commonly the primary focus of a few episodes but was also heavily featured in episodes centering Donald (much to the duck's dismay), Goofy, Jiminy Cricket, and others. Some of these episodes include On Vacation with Mickey Mouse and Friends, A Ranger's Guide to Nature, Four Tales on a Mouse, The Donald Duck Story, From All of Us to All of You, The Goofy Success Story, and many others. Throughout the years, various specials celebrating Mickey's success and history also aired, mostly centered around the mouse's birthday, including Mickey's 50 and most notably Mickey's 60th Birthday, where the story revolved around Mickey Mouse mysteriously disappearing during the anniversary of his debut, resulting in worldwide catastrophe and despair. The Mickey Mouse Club Mickey was the mascot of the daily show and featured prominently in the opening theme song, donning a marching band outfit while being celebrated by a slew of his supporting cast—with the exception of an envious Donald Duck, who is instead trying to steal the spotlight. Throughout the week, an animated segment featuring Mickey kicked off each episode by greeting the Mouseketeer audience and calling the cue to start the show, to the tune of classic Disney songs. On Monday and Tuesday, Mickey appeared as a concert pianist ("A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes") and a vaudevillian actor ("Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah"), respectively. On Wednesday and Thursday, he was the sorcerer's apprentice ("The Siamese Cat Song") and a trombone-playing band leader ("Following the Leader"). Finally, on Friday, he was a cowboy with a western drawl ("Pecos Bill"). Walt Disney reprised his role as Mickey for these animations; this was his final performance as the character. The Mouse Factory Mickey made recurring appearances in the live-action wrap-around skits alongside the other costumed characters and celebrity guests. Mickey Mouse Works Mickey was the star of the series similar to his classic cartoons. Mickey usually got into problems out of his own mischievous attitude. Mickey had his own 90-second cartoon segments entitled Mickey to the Rescue in which he would break into Pete's trap-laden hideout to rescue Minnie. In some episodes, Mickey would be involved in the Ajax business with Donald and Goofy having various jobs often ending in complete failure while in other cartoons might involve him in trying to impress Minnie by going over the top and modern. Hearkening back to his roots, Mickey was shown to be a trickster in the show, in such shorts as "Mickey's Mountain" and "Mickey's Cabin", usually having Mickey outwit his nemesis, Pete, as they battle each other. He was also reunited with his rival, Mortimer Mouse, for the first time in animation since "Mickey's Rival"; the two would regularly clash throughout the series, beginning in "Mickey's Rival Returns". House of Mouse In Disney's House of Mouse, Mickey is the owner of the eponymous popular night club in downtown Main Street. Mickey strives to keep the club profitable to keep safe from the landlord, Pete while making sure himself is entertaining. Like his previous series, Mickey is mischievous and often gets the club in hot water because of that, such as in the episode "Rent Day", where he spent the club's rent on a large order of cheese. In Mickey's Magical Christmas: Snowed in at the House of Mouse, Mickey and the guests are trapped inside the club on Christmas Eve. Mickey suggests they throw a Christmas party at the club. While the guests enjoy themselves by watching cartoons and socializing, Mickey and the employees try to get Donald into the Christmas spirit. With the guidance of Jiminy Cricket, Mickey is able to shed light on Donald, making it a merry Christmas for everyone. In Mickey's House of Villains, Mickey tries to give his guests a good-spirited spooky Halloween. However, things take a turn for the worst when Jafar rallies the villains together at midnight and kicks him out along with the rest of the staff (trapping non-evil guests in the kitchen) and rename the club the "House of Villains". Mickey tries reasoning with Jafar to get the club back to normal, but to no avail. This forces Mickey to sneak backstage and don his sorcerer robes and hat from his time as Yen Sid's apprentice and take Jafar on in a magical duel. However, he soon loses his hat and becomes disadvantaged as the villains gang up on him, but Aladdin provides a lamp to imprison Jafar, scaring the other villains away and returning the House to normal. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Mickey is the host of the computer-animated series in which he uses brains and teamwork to solve problems. Mickey is the leader of the clubhouse gang and often going on various adventures to help and/or save his friends. In the show, Mickey and the clubhouse gang solve various problems using the viewers help. Aside from leaving on adventures and solving puzzles, Mickey and his friends also go through other problems such as stopping Goofy's Goofbot and Mickey and Pluto spending the day trying to return to solid ground after being trapped in a bubble. Mickey is also the host of the spin-off television series: Mickey Mousekersize. In these shorts, Mickey, accompanied by Toodles, help his friends stay in shape by using exercises to solve their daily problems. Mickey also appeared in the Christmas, Halloween, and Thanksgiving-themed episodes of Minnie's Bow-Toons. Mickey Mouse In the animated mini-series, Mickey and his friends are shown having numerous adventures in exotic places around the world, including Paris, Tokyo, New York City, and more. In the series, Mickey retains his rascally persona most prominently featured in the shorts of the 1920s and 1930s. Many of his cartoons revolve around impressing Minnie in one way or another, though the true focus of the episodes revolves around Mickey figuring out comical ways to achieve whatever task is at hand while keeping his lovable nature. Many episodes focus on Mickey attempting over-the-top methods of wooing Minnie, dealing with Goofy's antics and clashing with Donald's fiery temper and selfishness. This incarnation features Mickey living either in an apartment in a city or in a suburban home, with an occasional goldfish named Gubbles and Pluto. When shorts are focused in these settings, Mickey tends to take a more down-to-earth approach with things, such as trying to cure Donald of an illness, win a dog show, escape the summer heat or save his goldfish from a hungry cat. At times, though, his adventures can still escalade in his default home, such as the night he ran through the dangerous city streets to save a sleep-walking Goofy, the night he accidentally lost his ears or the time he challenged Pete to a wrestling match, albeit accidentally. Notably, some cartoons portray him in various roles set around the globe. For example, in "Yodelberg", Mickey is a Swiss mouse who wishes to visit Minnie atop the Matterhorn, but the treacherous terrain may cause such a plan to be difficult. "Tokyo Go" stars Mickey as a Japanese mouse going on an adventure aboard the Tokyo bullet train system. In "O Sole Minnie", Mickey is an Italian mouse struggling to win Minnie's heart. Mickey and the Roadster Racers Mickey appears in the animated series, where he and his friends live in a town called Hot Dog Hills, which prides itself in its recurring racing tournaments. Mickey is the head of a local auto garage commanded by himself alongside Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Goofy, Pluto, Chip, and Dale. Mickey's transforming roadster is known as the "Hot Diggity Hot Rod". Trivia * Although Mickey Mouse is the official mascot of The Walt Disney Company, ironically the favorite Disney character of the own Walt was Goofy, not Mickey. * Mickey Mouse is considered to be the most iconic and important characters in fiction history along with Bugs Bunny and Superman. * When Mickey Mouse was created, his creator, Walt Disney, originally planned to give him the name Mortimer. However, Walt Disney's wife said to him that the name Mickey is better for Disney's character. After this, Disney decided to call him Mickey Mouse. ** However, he used later the name Mortimer for a character who is a love rival of Mickey Mouse, Mortimer Mouse. 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